Best Christian Books on Evangelism: 15 Classics on Soul-Winning
If you want to start sharing your faith, read J. Wilbur Chapman's The Personal Touch. It is two hours long, it is about talking to one person at a time, and it was written by a man who came to Christ because his Sunday school teacher touched his elbow. Then read R. A. Torrey's How to Bring Men to Christ, the most practical handbook in the library. If you preach or teach, read Spurgeon's The Soul-Winner.
The old evangelists did not think of evangelism as a program. They thought of it as love telling the truth. A few convictions run through all of them. The message is Christ crucified and risen, and nothing else will do. Every believer is called to speak, not only preachers. The worker has to be right with God himself, and pray at every step. Only the Holy Spirit can give new life, so we plead and leave the result with God. And they were in earnest, because they believed souls were really at stake.
He that winneth souls is wise.
Proverbs 11:30
Here are fifteen of the best books on evangelism in TheWay Library, all free to read.
Start here: speaking to one person
1. The Personal Touch, by J. Wilbur Chapman
Chapman tells how he was won, then shows from Christian biography how often God uses one friend speaking to one friend. Practical chapters follow on preparing yourself, beginning at home, and reaching children and young people.
it was her personal touch that gave me courage to rise before the school and confess my Saviour.
The Personal Touch, chapter 1
2. How to Bring Men to Christ, by R. A. Torrey
Torrey taught this material for years before he wrote it down. He sorts the people you'll meet into kinds: the careless, the anxious who don't know how, those with false hopes, those without assurance, backsliders and skeptics. For each, he gives the Bible verses to use and how to use them.
Solid work in soul winning must be accompanied by prayer at every step.
How to Bring Men to Christ, chapter 1
See Who Was R. A. Torrey?. Read How to Bring Men to Christ.
3. The Soul-Winner, by C. H. Spurgeon
Lectures first given to the students of his college, plus addresses to Sunday school teachers and church members. Spurgeon warns against counting excitement or church joining as conversion, describes what a soul-winner needs toward God and toward people, and says what kind of sermon wins souls.
Preach Jesus Christ, brethren, always and everywhere; and every time you preach be sure to have much of Jesus Christ in the sermon.
The Soul-Winner, chapter 4
If you preach, pair it with our Lectures to My Students summary. Read The Soul-Winner.
The heart of the soul-winner
4. The Passion for Souls, by J. H. Jowett
Seven short addresses, mostly from Paul, on the worker's own heart: amazement at the riches of Christ, sharing His sufferings, tenderness, and watching for souls. It is short and searching.
To be, therefore, in the sacrifical succession, our sympathy must be a passion, our intercession must be a groaning, our beneficence must be a sacrifice, and our service must be a martyrdom.
The Passion for Souls, chapter 2
5. The Soul-Winner's Secret, by Samuel Logan Brengle
Written for Salvation Army officers. Brengle starts with the soul-winner's own walk with God, then gives very down-to-earth counsel about time, study, health and money, how to call for a decision, and how to keep the converts.
The truth is, that we love the Lord no better than we love His Word.
The Soul-Winner's Secret, chapter 18
Read The Soul-Winner's Secret.
6. Words to Winners of Souls, by Horatius Bonar
A one-hour appeal to ministers. Bonar says success in ministry is measured by souls won, and that a few fervent, holy men do more than many lukewarm ones. He includes a confession of ministers' sins from 1651 that is still painful to read. See also Horatius Bonar's books.
Nearness to him, intimacy with him, assimilation to his character — these are the elements of a ministry of power.
Words to Winners of Souls, chapter 2
Read Words to Winners of Souls.
The message and the mandate
7. Evangelism, by G. Campbell Morgan
Five lectures from 1904: what the gospel is, why evangelism belongs to the whole church, the character of the evangelist, how to run evangelistic services, and the opportunity of the hour. Clear, firm and short.
We must be very suspicious of any new evangel that has no Cross in it.
Evangelism, chapter 1
More of Morgan is in G. Campbell Morgan's books. Read Evangelism.
8. The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation, by Andrew Fuller
Some in Fuller's day taught that preachers should not call the unconverted to believe. Fuller answered from Scripture that faith in Christ is the duty of everyone who hears the gospel. The book helped free English Baptists to preach and send missionaries.
If God be sought, loved, or served, we may be sure that Jesus is embraced; and, if Jesus be embraced, that sin is abhorred.
The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation, Concluding Reflections
Read The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation.
9. An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians, by William Carey
Carey's short manifesto argues that the Great Commission still binds the church, surveys the unreached world country by country, answers the objections, and calls for prayer and a missionary society. It helped launch the modern missionary movement. Our guide to the best missionary biographies follows where it led.
I wish with all my heart, that every one who loves our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, would in some way or other engage in it.
An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians, section 5
Books to give a seeker
10. The Way to God, by D. L. Moody
Moody's plain explanation of the gospel: the love of God, the new birth, the two classes of hearers, answers for anxious enquirers, repentance and assurance. Read it yourself to learn how Moody explained things, then give it away.
Faith is to take God at His word, unconditionally.
The Way to God, Chapter III
See Who Was D. L. Moody? and D. L. Moody's books. Read The Way to God.
11. Around the Wicket Gate, by C. H. Spurgeon
Written for people who have come right up to the gate of life and are standing still. Spurgeon explains faith as leaning on Christ and deals gently with the fears and hindrances that keep them waiting. Two hours.
To believe is to trust, or lean upon Christ Jesus; in other words, to give up self-reliance, and to rely upon the Lord Jesus.
Around the Wicket Gate, Faith in the Person of the Lord Jesus
12. Twelve Soul-Winning Sermons, by C. H. Spurgeon
When friends asked which sermons to hand out, Spurgeon picked these twelve because God had already used them to convert many. "Faith: What Is It? How Can It Be Obtained?" is one of the clearest he ever preached. Read Twelve Soul-Winning Sermons.
The Puritans plead with sinners
13. A Call to the Unconverted, by Richard Baxter
Printed in this volume with Making Light of Christ and Salvation. Baxter preached "as a dying man to dying men," and in the Call he presses Ezekiel 33:11, "turn ye, turn ye," answering every excuse. See Richard Baxter's books.
If it be bad to be holy, why doth God say, "Be ye holy, for I am holy?"
Making Light of Christ and Salvation, A Call to the Unconverted
Read Making Light of Christ and Salvation.
14. Christ Knocking at the Door of Sinners' Hearts, by John Flavel
Sermons on Revelation 3:20 that Flavel preached after years of restraint on his ministry. Every conviction of conscience, he says, is Christ knocking.
Christ and life, Christ and hope, go together: no Christ, no life; no Christ, no hope.
Christ Knocking at the Door of Sinners' Hearts, chapter 5
Read Christ Knocking at the Door.
A life given to it
15. Uncle John Vassar, by T. E. Vassar
The story of a nineteenth-century tract colporteur who spoke to everyone he met about Christ, on Western roads, in Civil War camps and among miners and freedmen. You'll put it down wanting to talk to someone.
The all-absorbing passion of his soul was love to God and the perishing around him.
Uncle John Vassar, chapter 5
More to explore
Moody's Secret Power and Torrey's The Baptism with the Holy Spirit both teach that power for witness comes from the Spirit; see our Secret Power summary and Torrey on the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Evangelism and revival were never far apart for these writers, so our guide to the best Christian books on revival is a good next step.
Where to start
- Never shared your faith: Chapman, then Torrey.
- Preacher or teacher: Spurgeon's The Soul-Winner, then Bonar.
- Your heart has gone cold: Jowett.
- A friend is seeking: give them Moody's The Way to God or Around the Wicket Gate.
More books are on the evangelism topic page.